Cuban Coast Guard Incident Results in Tragic Loss of US Residents’ Lives

Four individuals aboard a Florida-registered vessel, who were reportedly involved in a fatal confrontation with the Cuban coast guard, have been identified as U.S. residents, according to local officials.

Cuban authorities, in a statement released Wednesday night, alleged that the deceased, along with six others who were injured during the altercation, were of Cuban descent. The government further claimed that the group was approaching Cuba as part of a terrorist scheme.

Among the victims, Michel Ortega Casanova has been named, while local officials continue efforts to confirm the identities of the remaining three victims.

Following the incident, the six injured individuals have been taken into custody, according to the Cuban Ministry of the Interior’s social media announcement.

The ministry also stated that most of the ten people on board have a documented history of criminal and violent behavior.

The ministry specifically said Amijail Sánchez González and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez are wanted by Cuban authorities ‘based on their involvement in the promotion, planning, organization, financing, support or commission of actions carried out in the national territory or in other countries, in connection with acts of terrorism.’

The Cuban government further claimed Duniel Hernandez Santos ‘confessed’ to being sent by the US ‘to facilitate the reception of the armed infiltration.’ 

Others onboard the ship included Conrado Galindo Sariol, José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra, Cuban authorities said.

The Cuban Coast Guard killed four people in a Florida-registered speedboat after the vessel crossed into the nation’s waters and opened fire, Cuban officials said. A stock image of a Cuban Coast Guard vessel is pictured, not the vessel in Wednesday’s incident

The Cuban Embassy said on X that the incident unfolded Wednesday morning, when the speedboat approached one nautical mile northeast of the El Pino channel in the Villa Clara province.

The embassy said Border Guard Troops confronted the speedboat, leading the crew of the Florida-registered boat to open fire on the Cuban personnel.

Authorities later seized assault rifles, handguns, Molotov cocktails, bulletproof vests, telescopic sights, and camouflage uniforms from the boat, the Ministry of the Interior of Cuba claimed.

But US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has downplayed Cuba’s version of events, vowing that the United States Department of Homeland Security and the US Coast Guard will conduct their own investigations.  

‘We’re not gonna base our conclusions on what they told us,’ he said, insisting that the boat was not in international waters as part of a US government operation. 

Rubio then said he was not ‘going to speculate about whose boat it was, what they were doing, why they were there, what actually happened.’

Still, he vowed that the US will ‘respond appropriately based on what our information tells us.’

Vice President JD Vance also said late Wednesday afternoon that Rubio had briefed him on the incident. He added that the White House was monitoring the situation.

‘Hopefully it´s not as bad as we fear it could be,’ Vance said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has downplayed Cuba’s version of events

Earlier, Cuba´s Interior Ministry issued a statement saying that the boat was roughly 1 mile northeast of Cayo Falcones, off Cuba´s north coast. It then said the government was ‘safeguarding its sovereignty and ensuring stability in the region.’ 

The shootout now threatens to increase tensions between the US and Cuba, following President Trump’s authorization of a mission last month to capture Nicolás Maduro, the former leader of Venezuela. 

Venezuela and Cuba have been close allies for decades, with Venezuela being the main exporter of crude oil and fuel to the island.

For weeks, the US has been intercepting and seizing oil tankers headed for Cuba, though the Trump administration has not acknowledged it is instituting a blockade.

Last week, the US Coast Guard seized a tanker 70 miles away from the island that was full of Colombian oil, The New York Times reported.

There are indications that the Trump administration wants to go further and pursue regime change. Trump himself has made numerous statements hinting that he wants the Cuba’s Communist leadership gone.

In late January, The Wall Street Journal reported that officials close to the administration have been discussing ousting Miguel Díaz-Canel, 65, who has led the country since 94-year-old Raúl Castro retired as president in 2021.

Officials familiar with the plans were focused on waiting for Cuba’s economy to collapse, making a possible operation easier to accomplish.

However, it broke on Wednesday that the Trump administration is now allowing American companies to resell Venezuelan oil to private companies in Cuba. The new guidance came from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

‘This favorable licensing policy is directed towards transactions that support the Cuban people, including the Cuban private sector (e.g., exports for commercial and humanitarian use in Cuba),’ the office said.

The Daily Mail has reached out to the State Department and the White House for comment on Cuba’s claims.